Comments on: How to deal with twaddle in your homeschool

By: Sarah

Sarah

I really appreciate the balanced approach in this article. Since I am dealing with a reluctant reader, my philosophy is that (almost) any reading is good reading. 🙂

By: Meg

Meg

Thank you, Jamie! I’ve been reading aloud with my own children for 25 years and have, at times, struggled to explain this idea. Somewhere after young motherhood I relaxed a bit, and we fell into something like the 90/10 rule. How do we handle twaddle? Well, my tolerance is pretty low, and my time is valuable, so I won’t read those repetitively to my younger children. Maybe once, and then I’ll ask them to pick out a better book. We are choosy about which books we will spend money on and take up residence in our home, so they always have a variety of good books here. The children will develop an appetite for well-written books over time, especially when Mom or Dad delights in them, or older siblings. My children know which books will make me cry, which books we can’t wait to read aloud to them when they are “just a bit older,” or which preschool books are so well done, Mom can read them with fresh delight every time they carry it to me. So, when the twaddle comes along, it isn’t really a problem. Also, we get a lot of books from the library, especially for the younger children. As we sift through them, some are taken off the shelf more frequently by the children, and some less. It’s a chance for the child to learn discernment (what do I like in a book, what do I not like) and broaden their world at the same time. I LOVE your book, Give Your Child the World.

By: McKenzie

McKenzie

While we do draw the line at absolute garbage (inappropriate language, unnecessary violence), we allow our children to read what many deem “twaddle” as well as “good” literature. We find nothing wrong with promoting imagination (gasp!) as well as a good vocabulary. Our children have initiated many conversations relating to real life after reading Justin Case, Ramona, Henry Huggins, etc. We even read Harry Potter – AND we’re Catholic! Double gasp! Our kids have awesome imaginations, know right from wrong, have amazing vocabulary that would put many adults’ vocab to shame, and it’s okay. Twaddle or not.

By: Jamie Martin

Jamie Martin

In reply to emily. Emily, I'd recommend getting a guide like Honey for a Child's Heart or Read for the Heart and letting that be your daughter's "catalog." She can browse and request books that you get for her from the library. Then when/if you go together, you might have a limit of the number of those kind of books she brings home. Like one of each series, but maybe search for a higher quality version of the types of series she enjoys as well and bring those to her as an option.

By: emily

emily

I find this harder as my kids get older. ..my 10 year old reads a lot if twaddle on her own…I always read the good stuff aloud but there is a lot of junky junior novels out there and she reads alot. How do you deal with this ad your kids get to be independent readers? I am also fine with some junk but definitely not as much as she reads!

By: Stacey Wilson

Stacey Wilson

Please give me your suggestions that’s not twaddle for each age group. Does anyone have a list of books that are really meaningful?

By: Heather Hitchcock

Heather Hitchcock

One adult’s “twaddle” is another kid’s gateway to learning to love fiction. I have a homeschooler who has always hated fiction (even when he was in public school), thinks it’s a waste of his time when he could “actually learn real stuff” (his words) in nonfiction books. Then came Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I can’t stand those books. But he reads them voluntarily, enjoys them, and I’m not going to argue with him over it (or his love of comic books) because there are a thousand other more serious ways to screw a kid up. This isn’t one of them. I don’t insist he read 8 other books I personally deem worthy for every one DoaWK book or comic he reads. I personally think that’s too autocratic. If I just must “get it right” (I’m not sure how that’s even defined…tests well on reading exams, a love of reading, a love of the pursuit of knowledge?) and absolutely insist my boys have to read such and such classic, then I better be willing to sit down and read it aloud to them.

By: Joey

Joey

Love this post! The 80/20 rule applies to so many areas of life, including our children’s reading! I’m also an all or nothing sort of gal. When we progressed to a more real/whole food approach to eating, I stressed over every piece of processed food my little ones would take in. Although I do my best to feed healthy, real food, the 80/2o principle has helped me relax a little when grandma brings a treat or attend a bbq, or we make a fun junk-food exception.
As a beginning homeschooler who wants to do things right, applying this same principle to our literature just makes sense. One of my biggest goals for my children is to develop in them a love of reading, knowing that if they do, there is no end to what they can learn or do. We do our best to surround them with high-quality literature, but don’t stress if they pull a little “twaddle” off the library shelf once in awhile. Thanks for the encouragement!

By: Martha Artyomenko

Martha Artyomenko

I like a good variety. I like some books that are just light sometimes that don’t take a huge amount of brain power to read and digest, and sometimes I want something that challenges my brain. There is a time and place for both.
A steady diet of only light reading does not feel right, but always reading books that only tax your brain is not healthy as well, I have seen what that can do to me as well.

By: Cognita

Cognita

I agree on this Jamie. Simplification of the language may seem comforting initially but it eliminates the scope of learning. I have always encouraged my children to read the original version of the books, as even though they seem difficult initially but gradually they enhance and enrich vocabulary to a great extent.